Keyboard equipped hand held optical readers have emerged as an important industrial and commercial scanning product that offers flexibility and versatility. While the shape of a keyboard equipped hand held optical reader may be influenced by the keyboard and display, a reader's shape is primarily determined by scanning ergonomics. Scanning ergonomic concerns limit the area available for a keyboard, display, and good read status indicator.
Blank soft keys (soft keys without indicia formed thereon) are well known and widespread in reader technology and have been available for a number of years as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,839. However, operators using readers equipped with blank soft keys have encountered difficulty in comprehending the present function of such blank soft keys.
There is a need to improve an operator's ability to comprehend the present function of a soft key incorporated in a data collection device.